Apple and Amazon have ended their lawsuit over who has the right to use the “app store” name, clearing the way for both companies to use it, reports “Reuters” (http://tinyurl.com/lhvbems).
U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, has ordered that the case be dismissed at the companies’ request, averting a trial that had been scheduled for Aug. 19. This came after Apple issued to Amazon a covenant not to sue over the online retailer’s use of the term, eliminating the need for Amazon to pursue a counterclaim seeking permission.
Last year Apple sued Amazon, saying the online retailer is using Apple’s “App Store” trademark for a mobile-software developer program. In a complaint filed March 18, 2011, in federal court in northern California, Apple accused Amazon.com of trademark infringement and unfair competition and asked for a judge’s order to prevent the company from using the “App Store” name, as well as for unspecified damages.
Apple registered for a trademark on the term App Store on July 17, 2008. It has been using the name since then to refer to its applications store for iOS devices. Earlier this year it also launched the Mac App Store.
“Amazon has begun improperly using Apple’s App Store mark in connection with Amazon’s mobile-software developer program,” Apple said in the complaint. Amazon also plans to use the name with a mobile-software download service, the complaint states.
Amazon began using the App Store designation around the beginning of this year, according to the lawsuit. “Amazon has unlawfully used the App Store mark to solicit software developers throughout the United States,” Apple claimed in its suit. In the court filing, Apple said in the court filing that it contacted Amazon three times to demand that it cease using the name and that Amazon hadn’t “provided a substantive response.”